6.17.2011

I'm loving...

*Our local CSA, which despite the extreme heat and drought conditions has managed to provide us with so very many vegetables.

*The challenge of finding ways to use all these vegetables... and experimenting with lots of new recipes. Here are a few of our favorites so far.

This chocolate zucchini bread was a huge hit. Both loaves were gone in a day. I cut the amount of chocolate chips by half - only because I ran out. But I think it was better that way. It was sweet, but not like eating-a-brownie sweet. I used summer squash instead of zucchini without any problem. My kids were gushing.

This zucchini and tomato gratin. Again I used summer squash. It was amazing. And I'm not even a huge summer squash fan. This 9x13 (for us) side dish was gone by the end of the meal... and could easily be the meal if you're looking for something light and/or vegetarian. My summer squash browned in only 4-5 minutes/side. I also at least quadrupled the amount of basil. There's quite a lot of liquid in this dish which we ladled out at the end, but you could also follow the cook's footnote to make it a little drier.

*My mom's suggestion to freeze my tomatoes whole, to save until I have a big batch for canning. And finding out it's as easy as putting them into the freezer on a baking sheet. When it comes time to use them, the skin peels off in a snap with this method.

*Fresh basil drying in the pantry.

*Jude learning to read in his own time, not being pushed. It all clicked for him at the end of kindergarten. My heart melted when I saw this this morning.

*This video featuring NT Wright and his suggestions on how to read the Bible. It doesn't display the time, but is about 5 minutes long. Dan and I both left inspired. And as read-the-Bible-with-two-commentaries types, (at least partially) changed.